Geneva celebrates ‘Escalade’ battle

Geneva celebrated 423 years of Escalade this weekend Keystone-SDA

Geneva ended its weekend of 'Escalade' festivities with a historic procession on Sunday evening. The annual event marks the battle that saw the Protestant city repel an invasion from the Catholic Duke of Savoy on the night of December 11-12, 1602.

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Participants in period costumes, carrying halberds or on horseback, marched to the sound of fifes and drums in a festive atmosphere, lit by flaming torches.

At 5pm, the sound of drums broke the silence of the Parc des Bastions and the procession set off. It consisted of 800 people in period costumes, in a precise order, and travelled through the city to mark the events of the night of December 11-12, 1602, when the Savoyards, neighbours of the Genevois, attacked them by surprise.

The procession was organised by the Compagnie 1602, Switzerland’s oldest historical society. Young and old marched to the Bourd-de-Four, the first stop, with a solemn air, often accompanied by a smile for the many spectators along the route.

The herald, dressed in the town’s colours, stood proudly in the centre of the square. Spectators tired to find a spot to listen to the crier played by lawyer Yves de Coulon.

A text was proclaimed in memory of the victims of the Nuit de l’Escalade, supported by the booing of the crowd when he evoked the former Savoyard soldiers. “Vive Genève, vive la Suisse”, he declared, amid cheers. Fifes played “Cé qu’è lainô”, Geneva’s patriotic anthem, which was taken up by the public as well as the procession. They stopped five times, passing through Bel-Air square and ended in front of St-Pierre Cathedral.

The herald was not the only one singing Geneva’s praises on Sunday. “I love Geneva,” declared Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin during an afternoon speech dedicated to Escalade. He praised the courage, independence and unity shown by the people of Geneva in 1602, which he said had revealed the city’s “rebellious temperament” and enabled it to preserve its “universal spirit”, “a certain aesthetic of sobriety” and “a demanding civic spirit”.

The procession in tribute to the victims opened the commemorative events on Friday evening, while Saturday evening was reserved for the procession of lanterns, some of which were still dotted around the public on Sunday. The theme of this year’s festivities was philately. Stamps were created for the occasion and sold from dedicated stands.

Throughout the weekend, workshops and stalls gave the public the chance to rediscover the Escalade period, as well as traditional dishes such as wild boar roasted on a spit. It was also possible to explore the town’s secret passages, open only at this time of year, such as the narrow Passage du Monetier in the Old Town.

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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